Applications
Blazeguard® fire rated sheathing is a structural wood panel that has received certification and independent laboratory listings as a fire resistive material with a Class A flame spread rating. Fire resistive ratings refer to the ability of a material or assembly of materials to inhibit the pass through of heat or fire. A ‘flame spread rating’ is the ability of a material to inhibit the spread of fire along its surface. Since Blazeguard® is rated as both, it has market opportunities in a variety of applications where fire performance is important.
Fire-rated materials are typically used in building applications if they are required by code or if the property owner desires the added security fire resistive materials can provide. This added sense of security is enhanced by the possibility of reduced insurance premiums often available for fire resistive construction.
Barrier has targeted the following applications, which all have fire rated requirements in the model building code:
1. Multi-family Residential Roof Decks
2. Commercial Modular Roof Decks
3. Fire Resistive, Structural Wall Assemblies
4. Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)
5. Specialty Applications
| Multi-family Residential Roof Decks |
|
In the 1990s, the failure of fire retardant treated plywood on multi-family residential roof decks provided the initial market opportunity for Barrier to sell Blazeguard®. As this replacement market was satisfied, the company focused on new construction of multi-family dwellings. Barrier has met with success in winning some of the largest U.S. homebuilders as end users of Blazeguard® to meet code requirements for fire rated roof deck assemblies and fire-rated materials in town homes and condominiums.
Most materials utilized to build roof decks in commercial buildings are required to be "non-combustible". There are, however, certain criteria regarding building height, number of stories, square footage, and building use/occupancy that, if met, allow the use of alternative products such as FRT as "…an acceptable material". In addition to meeting these very specific criteria, which are interpreted differently within each code jurisdiction, these alternative products require the approval of the local building code official when the building plans are submitted.
In June 2003, Barrier successfully completed rigorous wind tests that enabled the company and its partner, Mule-Hide Products Co., Inc., to have Class C and Class A rated commercial roof deck assemblies labeled and listed by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL). These UL-certified assemblies are being sold, with growing demand, into the market for pre-fabricated structures used as semi-permanent commercial and institutional buildings.
Building code standards and their enforcement are becoming increasingly stringent, and modular building manufacturers are demanding improved solutions to meet these requirements. Barrier and Mule-Hide formed a joint initiative to design and introduce new "rated" roof deck assemblies that would provide superior fire and wind ratings compared to existing materials. While the majority of mobile commercial buildings are required to have a Class C fire rating, most are built to the more stringent Class A standard, since an effective, cost efficient Class C system has to date not been introduced.
Barrier and Mule-Hide completed the Class C test requirements for ASTM E-108, Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Roof Coverings and UL 1897, UL's proprietary Wind Uplift Test for Roof Covering Systems. Using Barrier's Blazeguard® fire rated wood panel, the system surpassed 240 psf wind uplift rates and will enable building users to locate these modular buildings in most coastal regions where wind is a structural design issue.
| Fire Resistive, Structural Wall Assemblies |
^ back to top |
Fire resistance is the ability of a material or an "assembly" of materials to prevent or retard the passage or heat or flame. A fire resistance rating is the time, in minutes or hours that a material or an assembly will prevent flame or high temperature (an increase of 325°F) from passing through. Standard fire tests exist which rate either heat transfer through an individual panel or the longevity of a complete wall constructed and placed "under load". These fire tests are among the most stringent with respect to getting building materials accepted for particular uses. Once completed, they provide a very powerful tool for marketing and sales.
Barrier has planned new fire tests to fulfill listing requirements that will open up opportunities for this type of application.
Fire resistant wall assemblies are required by code where the containment of fire is desired either between dwellings or "use" units within a building or between structures. Examples of where rated fire separation walls are required include: the party wall between units in multifamily residential construction; between a garage and living space in all residential buildings; walls in public buildings such as hospitals, day-care centers, and retirement homes; and the exterior walls of buildings of defined hazardous "use groups"; or the exterior walls of buildings within 5 feet of a property line.
The fire resistance rating of many fire-rated wall assemblies in the United States is provided through the use of gypsum wallboard (sheet rock). Sheet rock is a readily available commodity panel product that is relatively inexpensive ($9-$12 per sheet). As an alternative to Blazeguard®, 1/2" sheet rock has very similar "burn through" ratings at less than one half the material cost per sheet. Gypsum wallboard, however, is difficult to handle in some applications and damages easily in use. Labor cost savings are provided when Blazeguard® is used in some applications which have been shown to offset some of the additional materials cost in comparison to sheetrock. Generally if both sheetrock and plywood have been designed into a wall, for whatever reason, Blazeguard® has been found to be a lower cost alternative (labor included).
Gypsum wallboard has poor impact resistance and has very low structural strength. Gypsum wallboard, therefore, is only used in structural, load-bearing walls, or in walls that require impact resistance, if it is used in combination with structural sheathing or in combination with bracing techniques such as "sway" or corner bracing. FRT is not utilized in fire resistive assemblies because its resistance to "burn through" is actually no better, and sometimes less, than untreated plywood. For this reason, FRT cannot compete with Blazeguard® as an alternate structural component in these fire-rated wall assemblies.
Blazeguard® is attractive to builders due to the fact that it provides structural strength, impact resistance and fire resistance all in a "one-step" application process. Additionally, Blazeguard® withstands the dynamics of the jobsite environment (rain, heat and handling) better than either sheetrock or FRT.
Rigid foam core panels (also known as "structural, insulated foam core panels” or SIPs) provide the basis for a growing method of building construction in the United States. This building construction is done without the use of the more common 2' x 4' stud wall construction. SIPs are formed by laminating 4 - 6" of expanded polystyrene (foam) between two sheets of 7/16" OSB. Panels may be any size from 4' X 8' to 8' X 24' in dimension. The structural strength of SIPs is provided in the skin, or "envelope" of the building. It is in the interconnection of these panels, through splines and/or camlocks, that the strength of the building is actually enhanced over "stud wall" construction.
Advantages of stress skin panel building construction include: improved sheer strength; greater insulation properties (less energy required to heat and cool); less time to construct "in-the-field" (most of the building construction is completed within a factory); and a closer match to designed building specifications (enhanced ability to precision build within a factory versus in the field).
In addition to specialty, value added opportunities such as mezzanine floors, and interior liner panels for remote equipment shelters, Blazeguard® also has continuing opportunity in the area of interior wall surfaces (e.g. school corridor walls, prisons, hospitals) and fire rated packaging. Blazeguard® provides an economical, non-toxic alternative to fire rated plastics (Class A FRP) and fire rated particleboard. |
